


Snow Drift

by Serie11



Series: Femslash February 2018 [14]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Bodyswap, Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, The Frozen Wilds Spoilers, Worldbuilding, but not really lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 17:49:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13709547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: Aloy laughed, and Ikrie watched her in wonder. Aloy was so much more open than anyone she’d ever come across – and Ikrie was certain that that was a trait that was unique to Aloy alone, and not reminiscent of any tribe.





	Snow Drift

 

Ikrie poked at the fire in front of her, trying to keep it going. There was a harsh wind blowing from the north, and even though she’d built the fire in a lee of rock, the wind was still threatening to put it out.

She looked out over the vast wilderness spread out before her. The view from the mountains in the Cut was wide and expansive. There weren’t any views like this in Ban-Ur. The peaks and valleys were too sharp to find good outlooks, and the ones that could be found often only overlooked one place, which was cut off by a nearby mountain. Standing here, Ikrie could almost pretend that she was standing at the highest point in the world, and everything was spread out below her, just waiting for her to take advantage of it.

She could see smoke curling from where Song’s Edge was, and she could even spy a hint of green even further south, to Nora lands. Aloy had described the Sacred Lands before, and Ikrie still couldn’t really wrap her head around it. Things were green… the entire year? Sometimes Ikrie could barely handle the trees that she could find in the Cut. Aloy had told her about the Nora forests, and they seemed so alien to her – but she suspected that seeing them would be an awe inspiring thing.

No wonder the tribes were so different. Ikrie had been shaped by her environment to be a lean, effective hunter who never depended on anything. She’d never had to fight another human seriously, because in Ban-Ur weraks never fought against each other, and she’d never had the misfortune of coming across a bandit camp. So she was a machine hunter through and through. But Aloy had told her about how she’d cleared out the bandit camp in the Cut, and how she’d done it for the other bandit camps that she’d come across in her travels as well.

To be fair, Ikrie felt that measuring Aloy against anyone else was probably an unfair starting point. Aloy was charismatic and amazing and so good with a bow that sometimes it blew Ikrie’s mind. She was around here somewhere, hunting for their dinner.

Ikrie sighed and poked at the fire again before adding another log. Almost as if her thoughts had summoned her, Aloy came up over the rise with two rabbits in her hand.

“I found dinner!” she called.

“I can see,” Ikrie said, amused. “I’ve got the fire going.”

“Good,” Aloy said, coming up closer. Together, they prepared the meal, Aloy adding some Carja spices while Ikrie chopped up the rabbits. Ikrie leaned over Aloy’s small cooking pot and breathed the smell in. The spices were strange on her tongue, but it was a welcome change. Most Banuk spices consisted of salt, salt, or salt.

“We’ll probably have to move soon,” Ikrie said, staring up at an approaching storm. “Don’t want to get caught up in that.”

Aloy shuddered. “If it’s worse than the storms that normally happen around here, then I definitely don’t want to get stuck in that. It’s freezing enough without it.”

“We’re close enough to Song’s Edge that it won’t be a problem,” Ikrie reassured her. “Although you’ll have to finish your meal first.”

Aloy rolled her eyes. “Just because you inhale your food doesn’t mean I have to. Besides, you should see how the Carja eat. It takes them hours! I still don’t understand half of the things that the Carja do, honestly.”

Another difference between the tribes, Ikrie mused. On the tundra, if you didn’t eat fast you risked getting caught unawares, or having the smell of your food attract unsavoury interest. Ikrie was still getting used to the idea of fires and cooking warm food outside the safety of a werak camp, but Aloy did it easily, like she’d never had to think of the threats that a fire might bring. There aren’t any wolves this far south, but Ikrie can still see them in the lines of the scorchers. Out of all the machines, those put her teeth on edge the most.

Aloy spooned half of the stew into a bowl that she gave to Ikrie, and gingerly began to eat out of the pot, even though it must be extremely hot from the fire. Ikrie felt her heart warm from the action. She’d always had one of the lowest places in the werak, after her parents had died, and she doubted even Mailen would have given her the bowl and eaten out of the pot. Aloy did these things casually, like it was no big deal, and Ikrie wondered if that was another difference between the tribes.

Ikrie stretched her leg out so that their feet were touching, and Aloy shot a smile at her. Ikrie smiled back, and took a bite of her stew. Rabbit was another new taste, but Aloy must have experimented enough with her spices, because Ikrie thought that the meal tasted very good.

Just as she was scraping the last bits from the bottom of her bowl, Ikrie heard a low growl.

Her hand was already going for her sling, but a frostclaw burst into the clearing and knocked her and Aloy flying. Ikrie landed in a mound of snow and came up coughing, looking wildly for her weapon. Their camp was in disarray and Aloy was on the other side of the clearing to her, rolling over slowly. The frostclaw stamped its feet and slowly began to turn around for another charge.

Ikrie spotted one of Aloy’s bows a few metres away and grabbed it. There was a quiver of arrows not far away, and Ikrie strapped them on in time to dodge the frostclaws next charge.

“Hey! Over here!” she yelled loudly, because Aloy still hadn’t gotten up and Ikrie’s heart was in her mouth and she needed to keep the frostclaw’s attention on her. Its eyes were red and focus on in her sharply. It stands up and Ikrie scrambled out of the way as it started to shoot chillwater from the component on its front.

Ikrie knew how to shoot a bow, but it wasn’t exactly her weapon of choice. She sprinted past the frostclaw, giving herself time to nock an arrow and aim while it turned around. Her first arrow deflected off without leaving a dent, but the second one she sent out struck true in the frostclaw’s chest. It came towards her with wide claws, slashing from side to side, and she barely dived out of the way in time to avoid them.

“Aim for its chest!”

Ikrie felt a wash of relief in hearing Aloy’s voice, and a second later a frost bomb landed on the frostclaw. Ikrie shot another few arrows into the frost claw’s chest, even though the machine hardly looked like it was tiring, or the arrows doing any damage. Ikrie kept it circling as she danced around it, always yelling to keep its attention on her while Aloy shot it with frost bombs.

The machine stiffened for a few seconds as the chillwater took its toll, and Ikrie used the brief span of time to stand still, catch her breath, and put as many arrows as she could into the machine. She got a glimpse of Aloy’s determined face as she put away the sling – _her_ sling, Ikrie realised, and picked up Ikrie’s spear from where it had landed after the frostclaw destroyed the camp.

Heart thudding for a different reason now, Ikrie took advantage of the chillwater while the effect lasted, even though the frostclaw was coming after her again. Aloy was agile and fast and always stayed behind the massive machine, while Ikrie goaded it from the front. Aloy kept wacking away at its legs and whatever she could reach, and Ikrie aimed extra carefully now, because she didn’t want any of her arrows to accidentally hit Aloy.

Finally, the frostclaw fell, parts sparking and twitching. Ikrie leant over and panted, while Aloy leaned on her spear and stared at the downed machine.

“Well that was an exciting way to end dinner!” she said cheerfully. Ikrie just shook her head. She’d faced frostclaws before, but always on her terms, and with her weapons. She made her way over to Aloy and offered her bow and quiver back.

“Thanks,” Aloy said, giving Ikrie her spear and sling in exchange. “Hey, we work pretty well even with each other’s weapons, don’t we?” Her eyes sparkled. “We should do a version of your challenge where I’m wielding the frost bombs and you have the arrows!”

“You can keep your bow,” Ikrie said, shaking her head. “And I don’t think I ever want to see you fight with a spear ever again. I felt like my heart was going to climb out of my chest.”

Aloy laughed, and Ikrie watched her in wonder. Aloy was so much more open than anyone she’d ever come across – and Ikrie was certain that that was a trait that was unique to Aloy alone, and not reminiscent of any tribe.

Together, they kicked up the snow and found most of the camping implements, including Aloy’s pot and Ikrie’s bowl. Aloy mourned the rest of her soup loudly, until Ikrie came over and punched her arm lightly.

“We found your spice pouch, and I’m sure that we can hunt some more rabbits,” Ikrie told her. “That storms nearly on us, so we should get moving. I’m pretty sure we’ve got everything from this camp site, anyway.”

Aloy looked around, then nodded. “Okay,” she finally said. “You’re right.” She leaned in and kissed Ikrie fondly, then pulled back and started sprinting down the path. “Last one to Song’s Edge loses!”

Ikrie huffed a laugh before running after her.

**Author's Note:**

> Today's prompt was bodyswap, but uhh, consider this: weapon swap instead? 
> 
> I'm currently on a cruise atm so that's why my posting schedule has gone off a cliff lmao


End file.
